One For Dee
by twilightHDfan
Summary: "Mom, what if part of who Lex is, is because of me? If I gave up on him too soon." After his talk with his mom, Clark finds a stranger in the barn who helps him to sort out his priorities. Pre-Slash. Clex.


**Title** – One for Dee

**Rating** – G

**Pairing** – Lex/Lana brief mention, Clex if you squint and cock your head to one side

**Spoilers** – Episode 6x19

**Warnings** – None

**Prompt** – written for enter_tzone – Episode **1.2: One for the Angels** - A pitchman (Ed Wynn) is visited by Death and is forced to get his priorities in order.

**Summary** – _"Mom, what if part of who Lex is, is because of me? If I gave up on him too soon."_ After his talk with his mom, Clark finds a stranger in the barn who helps him to sort out his priorities

"_Nothing's ever good enough for you, Lex."_

"_Yeah, well, the truth would have been."_

Walking out to the barn, Clark tried to sift through the thoughts in his head, his conversation with his mom playing over and over in his mind. It was something he had thought about over the past few years, as he watched Lex fall deeper and deeper into the darkness.

Was it him that had pushed Lex into the dark? Was it his secrets and his lies that had made Lex give up on the good side of himself, and embrace the darker side? Had he turned his back on his best friend too soon?

He'd never had a friend like Lex. Never had someone who challenged him in every way, who was always there for him, even though he knew he was lying. Lex would've done anything for him, and that was something that had scared Clark a little. Knowing deep down that there wasn't anything Lex wouldn't have done for him and his family.

Sighing, he slowly made his way up to the loft, trying to force the doubts away. He didn't owe Lex his secrets, didn't owe him everything in his life.

Did he?

He froze as he saw the young woman sitting on his couch, lounging as if she always came here, and reading a book.

"Can I help you?" Clark asked, walking up the rest of the steps and staring hard at the girl.

"Clark!" the woman said, putting the book, which was actually Clark's, down, and standing up, a smile crossing her face.

"You're finally here!"

Clark frowned as he took in the woman.

She was a pale, young goth woman, dressed in a black top and jeans, a chain with a silver ankh around her neck, a symbol drawn under her right eye, all combining to make quite an attractive package.

None of which helped Clark figure out who she was and why she was here.

"I'm sorry," he said, confused. "Do I know you?"

"Well," she replied, shrugging, a smile crossing her face as she moved towards him. "No. I've seen you around a lot and you've seen me around a lot, but we haven't really _met_ per se. I'm Dee."

"O-okay," Clark said, sticking his hands in his pockets, and watching her as she moved closer.

"I'm here, Clark," she said, stopping just in front of him. "To … well, to point out some things and … help you get your priorities straight."

"Priorities?" Clark repeated.

He didn't need his priorities straightened. His priorities were as straight as they were meant to be. He fought the bad guys and helped the good guys.

"Ah, but that's the thing, Clark," Dee said, as if she could read his thoughts. "The 'bad guys' don't always do bad, and the 'good guys' don't always do good. And sometimes, well, if a bad guy gets something, then he might not be a bad guy anymore, he might become a good guy. Or at least, a less … bad … guy."

"'Gets something' like what?" Clark asked, trying to follow the girl's logic.

"Trust," Dee answered immediately, turning to lean against the railing.

"Trust?" Clark parroted, frowning as he turned to face the girl.

"And which bad guy am I … Oh," he trailed off, one of his hands raising to run through his hair as he realized that she was talking about Lex.

"You've always hidden, Clark, it's always been one of your priorities. But then so has saving people, even from themselves," she continued.

"I can't trust Lex," Clark muttered, heart twisting as he once again denied giving Lex the truth. But it was true; he couldn't give Lex the truth, not now. He was likely to end up in a lab … or dead.

"Yeah," Dee said, again in what Clark assumed was in answer to his thoughts. "If you don't tell him, he will kill you Clark. Or try to at least."

Turning away from the girl, he walked over to the window, staring out at the star-filled sky.

"You sound like you already know," Clark replied.

"I do," she answered chirpily. "It isn't pretty and the first time he tries, Lex loses the battle completely, the dark side fully realized. And if you thought Lionel Luthor was bad, well trust me when I say you ain't seen nothing yet."

Clark felt his heart twist. How could he not try and stop Lex falling further.

"If I tell him," he said slowly. "He won't … he'll be good?"

"Maybe," Dee replied. "But let me ask you something, Clark. Will you be able to forgive yourself for not trying to save him? The truth could be the thing that does."

He didn't even need to think about it.

He wouldn't, he wouldn't ever be able to forgive himself and he would always be haunted by not taking the chance to tell Lex the truth.

"Time's running out," she continued. "I'm not sure how much longer you have until the hurt and paranoia will have him ignoring the fact that it's you saying it, and focusing instead on the fact that you're an alien."

Clark froze and looked at the girl. Up until now, the fact that they had been talking about Lex had distracted him. But the word 'alien' had him staring hard at the girl, his heart racing, as he swallowed hard.

"Oh, relax," she said, waving her hand. "I'm not here to hurt you or to spill your secret. I'm just here to try and get you to look at your priorities. And what one of them might cost you."

"I can't," he whispered.

Dee shrugged, eyes watching him with interest.

"Can't or won't?" she asked.

Looking up at the star filled sky, he tried to swallow his fear. He had always wanted to tell Lex, always wanted to stop the hurt that would enter his eyes whenever he lied to him. But fear and worry had always stopped him.

Fear at the way Lex would react …

He shook his head. No that wasn't the truth. He knew how Lex would react, had seen how Lex reacted to his secret. Sure, Lex had been half out of his mind, but he hadn't once said anything to anyone at Belle Reve.

"I don't … I don't think I know how to," Clark replied quietly.

"Baby steps, Clark," Dee said, warm hand coming to rest on his arm. "Start with something small … ish."

"Like what?" he asked.

"I don't know, save his life again, stop someone from shooting him or something, and then, when he asks, tell the truth," she answered. "Of course it would probably sound better if you just told him the truth, instead of him thinking you _had_ to."

Sighing, Clark nodded. Once upon of time, Lex would've forgiven him for telling him because he revealed his powers, but now, now Lex would probably only hate him more, if that was possible. Thinking that Clark only told him because he had to, and not because he wanted to.

"I have to tell, Lex," he whispered to himself, knowing that he'd have to do it tonight. Do it tonight or he'd talk himself out of it. That or he'd tell Chloe or Oliver, and they'd talk him out of it.

Nodding once, he turned to face the girl, shocked when all he saw was empty space, a note on the floor.

_No time like the present._

Walking up to the mansion, Clark swallowed the lump in his throat, trying to ignore the voice in his head that was screaming at him to stop, to turn around and go home.

Lex was going to be angry, but then, if Dee was right, then either way, Lex would end up hating him enough to try and kill him.

Multiple times.

Looking at his watch, he grimaced as he realized it was late, but knew that Lex would still be up, being too much of a work-a-holic to go to bed early. He pushed the door bell and waited, trying not to fidget, fighting down the butterflies in his stomach.

"Mister Kent?"

"Uh, hi," Clark said nervously, trying not to squirm at the butler's clearly disapproving face. "I … I'm here to see …"

"Mrs. Luthor has retired for the evening," the butler replied.

"Oh, uh, no," Clark said. "I wanted to see Mr. Lu- I mean Lex."

"Wait here," the butler said, indicating for him to step into the foyer.

He watched the other man go, taking a deep breath in and out again, trying not to turn and run.

"Master Alexander will see you in the study," the butler said, seeming to appear out of thin air, and indicating him to follow, as if Clark didn't know the way.

Stepping into the study, he saw Lex sitting behind his desk, staring at him coolly, indicating for the butler to leave. There had been a time, when they were friends that Lex would always stand up, come around the desk, not letting the desk stand between them like a barrier.

"Clark?" Lex said. "To what do I owe the honour? Or should I say, what have I done this time?"

He gave Lex a small shrug, trying to figure out which words to start off with. After a few minutes, he felt a blush steal up his neck.

"Lex," he said quietly. "I … I've been thinking about what you said."

"Really?" Lex replied, eyebrow raised in question.

"Yeah," Clark said, the words coming to him. "About trust and secrets. And … and maybe you're right."

Clark had thought that Lex had been still before, but now everything in Lex seemed to have frozen completely, seemed to be waiting, his eyes sharply focusing on Clark's face, a light shining in them.

"Really?" he asked again, the smoothness that Lex used to use in the beginning of their friendship back in his tone.

"I …"

He swallowed hard, sitting down on the edge of the couch, hand running through his hair, as he stared down at his feet.

"But you have to understand something, Lex," Clark said quietly. "I … I would never hurt anyone. Even when I'm on the red stuff, I didn't act like the others, and I never would."

He looked up in shock at the glass that was pushed against one of his hands.

"Its scotch, top of the line," Lex murmured, leaning back against his desk, eyes staring intently at Clark's face.

"You know that right, Lex?" he asked, staring at Lex's face.

"Clark," Lex replied, shaking his head. "You're … the kindest hearted person I know."

"You hit me with your Porsche," Clark blurted out, wincing. That hadn't been what he had wanted to say, he had wanted to tell Lex the big one, but his mouth had other ideas.

Lex didn't seem surprised, simply nodded, taking a sip of his scotch.

"I can run really fast, bullets can't hurt me, I have X-ray vision, heat vision and sometimes I float," Clark said all in one go.

Lex seemed to have followed it all, simply nodding his head as all of Clark's secrets were revealed, his eyes shining with something that Clark hasn't seen since they were friends.

He thinks it might be happiness.

"I'm an alien," he whispered, staring at his hands again.

That made Lex stop, the glass he was sipping from stopping mid air as his hand stopped moving, his eyes frozen on Clark's face. Clark didn't want to look in them, didn't want to see the disgust he was sure would be there, or worse a calculating look.

When he looked up however, Lex just stared at him in shock, confusion, hurt and excitement in his eyes.

"What?" he asked, shaking his head slightly, as if he hadn't heard right.

"I'm an alien," he replied, louder this time.

Lex took a step toward him, hand reaching out, before it turned into a fist, Lex pulling it back to his side.

"Clark?"

Clark turned as Lana walked in, her face a picture of confusion.

"Are you alright?" she asked, looking at Lex with a suspicious gaze, before looking at Clark.

"Fine," he said, giving her a small smile.

"Lana, if you could excuse us for a minute?" Lex asked, his eyes still glued to Clark's face.

Clark tried to ignore the heat spreading across his cheeks. He'd almost forgotten what Lex's full attention was like.

"Clark?" Lana asked, eyes growing even more suspicious, as they flicked between the two of them.

"Its fine, Lana," Clark replied, trying to ignore the intense look Lex was still giving him.

She gave them one last look, before turning and leaving the room.

"You know, usually I would be thinking about how my wife seems to trust you more then she does me," Lex finally murmured after a long period of silence, taking a small sip of his drink.

The cool tone had Clark a little on edge, wondering if he had made a horrible mistake.

"But, I …" he trailed off, shaking his head and standing up to pace across the room. "Clark, you … do you have any … why? Why now?"

Looking up at Lex, and seeing the torn look on the other man's face, Clark knew that he had told Lex in time. That his old best friend hadn't been lost yet.

"After the tunnels, I started thinking about what we talked about, and wondered if I … and then I got some advice," Clark replied, feeling like the bumbling fifteen year old he'd been back when he'd first met Lex.

"I'd always thought …" Lex said trailing off.

"That I was just another mutant?" Clark supplied, shrugging.

Lex's chuckle made him relax a little, the harsh lines leaving the older man's face, making Lex look like the young twenty one year old he'd met on the river bank.

"Alien," Lex murmured to himself, shaking his head, before taking another sip of his drink.

Clark looked down at his hands, wondering if Lex was going to say anything else. He's surprised when he looks up to see Lex right in front of him, even more surprised when the older man pulls him into a hug.

"Lex?" Clark asked, arms coming around to hug the other man, not realizing until this moment how much he missed the rare hugs they had had.

"Thank you, Clark," Lex whispered into his ear, his breaths warming Clark's skin, and sending a shiver down Clark's spine.

**End**


End file.
